The Salt

2:11 pm

Mon July 9, 2012

Brits Battle For Cheesy Glory By Writing National Anthem For Cheddar

The British Cheese Board is looking for a national anthem for cheddar cheese.

iStockphoto.com

To sum up the spirit of a nation or an international sporting event in an anthem is no easy task. But what about capturing a love of fermented milk products in song?

The British Cheese Board is on the hunt for an anthem to help promote British cheddar cheese to the world, as you may have read recently in The Wall Street Journal.

They've narrowed down about 150 entries to five candidates (two of whom wrote cheddar-inspired lyrics to Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1) and now they need your help to pick the best song. You can vote on the British Cheese Board's website until August 3. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the voting form.)

The winner of the song competition will win a year's supply of British cheddars, two weekend passes to a food and music festival in September, and of course, eternal cheesy glory.

Here are the final five with some highlights of their sharpest (ahem) lyrics on cheddar:

Upbeat Choir, written by Tim Sutton

"Cheddar, you are my Venus / Cheddar, you are the word / None shall come between us / Incomparable curd"

BLOCK: That entry is one of more than 100 sent in since May. Lyricists were asked to set their odes to cheddar to one of three traditional British tunes, the hymn, "Jerusalem," the patriotic classic "Land of Hope and Glory" or the National Anthem.

Now, five finalists remain. Among them, this stirring opus recorded in a pub comparing cheddar favorably to foreign cheeses.

BLOCK: The Cheese Board plans to announce a winner in August. Meanwhile, the public is invited to vote for these masterworks at the board's website. The winner receives a year's supply of British cheddar. We failed to ask how much cheese that actually is. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.